Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 88 Can't the second brother also live in the main room?

Even though Madam Xing's words were simple, Grandmother Jia was still shocked and furious when she heard them!

She realized that Jia She's illness was entirely his own doing.

He's getting on in years, and instead of taking care of his health, all he does is drink and have affairs with his mistress!

The imperial physicians, though they didn't explicitly say it, said that he was harmed by wine and women, which is why he ended up like this.

Oh, right, if we're talking about finding another reason, it seems like there is one...

"Who told you to give him those random medicines? Where did those medicines come from? Did you have them tested by a doctor to see if they were poisonous?"

Grandmother Jia didn't want Jia She to be associated with dying from a woman's pregnancy, so she wanted to find a plausible reason for him, which is why she asked that question.

If Jia She were truly poisoned, it's impossible that so many imperial physicians would have failed to detect it.

Therefore, she only wanted to cover up the fact that Jia She's health had been damaged by wine and women, and attribute Jia She's illness to the pills he had taken.

She actually knew all along that Jia She was keeping a wandering Taoist priest in the courtyard, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

She really couldn't understand what was wrong with the men of the Jia family. They were all shrewd men, so how could they not even see through life and death, and instead all be obsessed with immortality? Zhen'er's father was like that, and now he was too.

When Madam Xing and the others heard Grandmother Jia ask this question, they were so frightened that they didn't know what to do. They could only say that it was all Jia She's own idea, and that they had tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen.

Grandmother Jia then ordered the Taoist priest to be bound and brought to her.

After a long while, the steward and others finally brought in a thin, lewd old Taoist priest.

"Reporting to the old lady and madam, when we went to arrest him, he was trying to run away. If we hadn't been on guard, he probably would have escaped."

The steward knew that something serious had happened in the family and was afraid of being implicated, so he had already ordered people to keep an eye on Yuan Dan Daoist, just in case he escaped.

Grandmother Jia was a little tired and had already sat down to rest. She only asked Wang Xifeng to come out and inquire about her well-being.

This was Wang Xifeng's favorite task. Standing in the middle, she opened her phoenix eyes wide and rebuked Yuan Dan Daoist, "Does the master usually get all the pills he takes from you?"

Yuan Dan Daoist was already pale with fright at the sight before him, but he still forced himself to remain calm and said, "The pills I gave the master were all made by me personally, according to his instructions. They were made with precious ingredients and are elixirs that nourish the essence and blood and prolong life. There is absolutely no problem with them. The master's illness has nothing to do with me. I beg you gentlemen and ladies to see the truth!"

Before Wang Xifeng and the others could speak after Yuan Dan Daoist finished his rebuttal, Jia She, who was on the inner couch, heard Yuan Dan Daoist's voice and became agitated. He stretched out his hand and kept muttering, "Dan, Dan, give me, give me Dan..."

Yuan Dan Daoist had sharp ears. Upon hearing Jia She's voice, he immediately took out a pill from his pocket and tried to approach Jia She.

The butler and others were not about to let him get up; they immediately pinned him down.

"Dan, Dan, I need to take Dan..."

Jia She's insistence elicited various reactions from the people in the room.

After a moment's silence, Grandmother Jia said, "Give it to him!"

We've already eaten so much, one more time won't make a difference.

Then an old woman stepped forward, took the pills from Yuan Dan Daoist's hands, opened the box, and showed them to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia, of course, couldn't see anything amiss. She glanced at it and handed it over to Jia She.

Upon smelling the elixir, Jia She felt as if he were drinking sweet dew and swallowed it in one gulp.

Strangely enough, not long after Jia She swallowed the pill, his complexion actually seemed to improve. Seeing him struggling to get up, Madam Xing and the others rushed to help him.

Jia She sat up and could see Yuan Dan Daoist at the door. He seemed very excited and waved to him.

Under the orders of Grandmother Jia, the steward and others released Yuan Dan Daoist.

Yuan Dan Daoist felt as if he had been given a new lease on life, and immediately ran to Jia She, as if he were surrounded by wolves and tigers.

Only Jia She could give him a sense of security.

"I need more pills, more medicine..."

In Jia She's eyes, nothing else seemed to exist except the elixir he longed for.

"Yes, yes, I still have some pills here..."

Daoist Yuan Dan hurriedly pulled out two boxes from his robes. Because he wanted to grasp at Jia She as a lifeline, he didn't care about anything else and opened them, taking out the pills and handing them to Jia She.

Jia She didn't care about anything else and ate it all.

Satisfied, Jia She seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief and was able to turn to look at Grandmother Jia, slowly saying, "Grandmother..."

Grandmother Jia asked, "How are you feeling?"

"My son feels..."

Jia She looked listless, and could only sit up by leaning against Madam Xing.

He shook his head. At this moment, he seemed to understand that his body had reached the point of exhaustion.

After all, Physician Wang hadn't deliberately avoided mentioning what he said; he had heard it all.

After carefully examining Jia She, Grandmother Jia understood that the elixir had likely come at the cost of depleting Jia She's life force, which was why it had made him appear somewhat energetic.

"Stop taking these pills. Listen to the imperial physician and take good care of your health. Maybe you can recover," Grandmother Jia sighed.

"Stop taking these pills. Listen to the imperial physician and take good care of your health. Maybe you can recover," Grandmother Jia sighed.

Unlike before, Jia She did not fawn over his grandmother's words. He remained silent for a long time before saying, "My health is probably not going to get better..."

"Even if I die, there are still two things I can't let go of, and I'd like to inform the old lady of them first."

Grandmother Jia nodded, letting him speak.

"First of all, I failed to repay the old lady's kindness in raising me, and I passed away before her. I am truly unfilial, and I deserve to die..."

Upon hearing this, all her previous resentment towards Jia She vanished, and tears welled up in her eyes as she burst into tears.

But then Jia She stammered, "Another matter is the title my son holds. After my son dies, I want to pass it on to Cong'er..."

Jia She's words shocked most of the people in the room.

Grandmother Jia frowned as well: "Who is it, Cong'er?"

Jia She nodded.

Grandmother Jia said, "Nonsense! This concerns the important matter of clan succession. How can you act so arbitrarily? In terms of age, Lian'er is the elder brother. In terms of legitimate and illegitimate children, Lian'er was born to the late First Madam. How can Cong'er surpass Lian'er's age order?"

Wang Xifeng, who was standing to the side, was already terrified by Jia She's sudden outburst and broke out in a cold sweat. Upon hearing Jia Mu's words, she nodded repeatedly.

Life is truly unpredictable. She originally thought that Jia She was going to die, which would be a good thing for her, but it almost turned into a fright.

Jia She actually wants to pass the title to that little brat Cong'er?

How can this be allowed!

They were still planning how to take back the Rongguo Mansion's assets when Jia She undermined them, even refusing to give them their titles.

Suddenly, Wang Xifeng felt a surge of murderous intent, unsure whether it was directed at Jia She or Jia Cong.

No one else dared to speak at this moment, so after Grandmother Jia finished speaking, the scene was very quiet.

Jia She also appeared calm. He looked at Grandmother Jia and said indifferently, "Second brother, can't you also live in the main hall? Cong'er, why can't you inherit the title?"

The words, light and airy, seemed like a statement yet also a rhetorical question, but they were nothing short of a thunderclap!

Madam Wang, who was standing to one side, suddenly changed her expression and moved her body, almost losing her composure.

If Madam Wang was like this, one can imagine how everyone else reacted; they all stared wide-eyed, not daring to breathe loudly. They all thought to themselves, "Thank goodness the Second Master isn't here; otherwise, if he had heard these words, his expression would probably be quite unpleasant."

Only the clueless maids and wives looked at each other, seemingly not quite understanding why Jia She's ordinary words could provoke such a strong reaction.